Adjustable golf club



March 1955 c. v. WINTER ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB Filed Jan. 29. 1952 Cizariesdfi fi g r BY a ziiswzeys United States Patent ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB Charles V. Winter, Skokie, Ill. Application January 29, 1952, Serial No. 268,854 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-79) This invention relates to adjustable golf wood" and has primarily the object of providing a new and improved adjustable golf wood which may be used by the 01'd1- nary golfer to take the place of the plurality of wood clubs heretofore used in effecting various shots on a golf course.

In the use of the word wood I do not intend to imply that the club is made of wood, but to indicate the type of striking head possessed by the club. I am familiar with the fact that there are at the present time some heads made for woods which are made of metal and my invention is primarily related to this type of metal head for woods and the adjusting features which make it possible for the same club to be used as a driver, brassie, spoon or other wood clubs which are also known as numbers 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

A very broad object of this invention is to provide an adjustable wood which will be capable of driving shots of various lofts and yet will give the golfer at each shot the feeling of confidence and familiarity he has heretofore had by the use of an individual wood for each type of shot the golfer desires to make.

A more limited object of the invention is to provide an adjustable wood of such construction and appearance as to simulate closely the individual and single purpose clubs now employed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction in which adjustments of weight of the club may be made quickly, economically, without any necessity of the work of a skilled technician or any alteration whatsoever in the appearance or desirability of the club.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple adjustable construction which may be used by the person of ordinary mechanical skill without necessitating any course of instruction for proper adjustment.

A further and more important object of the invention is to provide a construction which is strong enough and safe enough in all adjusted portions to withstand the tremendous impact of the shock when a skilled golfer strikes the ball.

Other and more limited objects will .appear hereinafter as the description of this invention proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings in which corresponding numbers indicate similar parts and in which:

Fig. 1 is a transverse plan view of the outer end of the club of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view with certain parts broken away so as to illustrate the internal construction;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the outer face of the hosel and the goose-neck shank carrying the hub later to be described;

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the inner face of the hosel and goose-neck shank shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, the club of this invention comprises a head, generally indicated by A, a hosel, generally indicated by H, a goose-neck shank, generally indicated at S.

Generally the head A is preferably made of magnesium or aluminum alloy sufliciently strong to withstand the shocks and strains customarily encountered in golf play. Generally the upper surface of the head A is rounded from front to back and from side to side in the familiar manner in which clubs are now made. A tapering toe 11 is also provided and a striking surface may be provided by an insert 12 appropriately secured to the club head A by the familiar and appropriate screws 13. The insert 12 is inserted into a vertical slot 14 so as to cause the insert to lie flush with the face of the club in the usual manner also.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the head A is preferably formed of a hollow casting made of the appropriate metals heretofore described or any others of known characteristics which may be substituted and the side walls of the club in all directions are left sufiiciently thick to provide the required strength for their intended purpose. These thicknesses are well recognized in the art since there have been other hollow woods made of metal used successfully heretofore in the case of the single purpose wood.

The hollow construction of the head A, generally indicated by the cavity C in Fig. 2, ends near the heel of the club T with a solid portion between said cavity and heel. A bore customarily used in casting operations extends from the heel T through the solid portion to the cavity C. This customary casting bore is then drilled and tapped to provide the longitudinally extending bore 15 which ends exteriorly of the club at one end and interiorly into the cavity, generally indicated at C.

The heel T of the club is machined flat as indicated at 16 and the threaded bore is enlarged at its outer end to provide a cylindrical recess 17 with a pair of diametrically oppositely extending and similar slots 18 terminating in the recess 17. Into this recess 17 is pressed the reduced end of a circular hardened ring or bushing 19 which carry diametrically oppositely extending lugs suitable for tight fit into the slots 18 to hold the bushing 19 from rotation with respect to the heel T.

The outer face of the ring 19 is provided with a circular course of teeth preferably thirty-six in number.

Referring now to Fig. 4 it will be noted that the lower end of the goose-neck shank S is enlarged to provide a hollow and cylindrical hub 20 extending transversely of the end of shank S (shown more completely in Fig. 2). The hub 20 is provided with a smooth bore 21 extending longitudinally of the hub and circular recess 22 at its outer end.

In assembling the head and hosel together a screw threaded bolt 23 having an enlarged head 24 (shown more particularly in Fig. 3) is passed through the bore 21 of the hub 20 and screwed into the threaded bore 15 of the club head until the enlarged head of bolt 23 seats in the recess 22. At this point the circular toothed portion 25 of the inner end of the hub 20 (this toothed portion carries thirty-six teeth preferably) is brought into engagement with the toothed portion of ring 19, the teeth are brought firmly into mesh and as bolt 23 is tightened into hosel and club head, for all practical pose, become a complete unitary assembly. A socket 26 in the enlarged head 24 is adapted to receive a familiar gockezgwrench for the tightening and loosening of the Referring now to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the bottom of the club head is provided with a plurality of plane portions indicated respectively by I, II, III and IV, which the striking surface 12 on the face of the club bear the angular relation of 5 degrees, 15 degrees, 25 degrees and 35 degrees, respectively. Each of these longitudinally extending fiat surfaces I, II, III and IV provides a base for the club as it is to be used as a driver, brassie, spoon or No. 4 wood respectively, in golf play, respectively.

der to adjust the club head with respect to the is necessary only to loosen bolt 23 to a point where the teeth of the gripping rings may be freed from each other and to turn the club head to the desired augular relation. In order to gauge the angular relation it is desirable to place upon the surface of the inner end of the hub 20 a number of markings indicating the club adjustment desired and to place a cooperating pointer on some portion of the club head or ring 19 to indicate where a rotation has brought the adjustment before the bolt 24 is tightened to give the desired loft to the club.

The provision of 36 teeth in the adjusting parts will thus provide a 10 variation in the angle of the club face and loft obtainable in using the club.

When tightened, the enlarged head of bolt 23 seats in recess 22 and there are no protruding parts to mark the club as strikingly different from the usual single purpose club; the adjusting parts are protected by co-engagement, and the bolt 23 has its threaded end protected by the enclosing club head.

While I have shown and described my preferred form of construction, I do not wish to be limited to the precise details shown and described, but wish to avail myself of all variations coming fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club of the character described comprising a hollow head of the wood type having a solid inner end provided with a threaded bore, a striking face insert mounted on said head, the bottom of said head being formed with a plurality of plane surfaces disposed at various angles with respect to said striking face insert, a hosel having a hub formed integrally therewith, said hub having a plurality of teeth at one end thereof and an axial bore, a correspondingly toothed ring fixedly secured to said head, and a bolt positioned in said threaded bore positively to retain said hub and said head in selected positions of adjustment whereby a flat base surface is presented for each of several angular positions of the head with respect to the hub and hosel.

2. A golf club of the character described comprising a hollow head of the wood type having a solid inner end provided with a threaded bore and having a striking face formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending planar surfaces disposed at various angles with respect to said face, a hosel having a hub formed integrally therewith, said hub having formed at one end thereof a plurality of radially extending teeth, a correspondingly toothed ring mounted in fixed relation on said head for cooperation with the teeth of said hub in preventing relative rotation therebetween, a bolt mounted in said hub bore and said head bore for securing the hub and the head in fixed relation at any desired position of adjustment, whereby a fiat base surface is presented for each of several angular positions of the head with respect to the hub and hosel.

3. A golf club of the character described comprising a hollow head. of the wood type having a solid inner end provided with a threaded bore and having a striking face and a base formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending planar surfaces disposed at various angles with respect to said face, said inner end being provided with a recess coaxial with said bore, a ring mounted in fixed relation in said recess, the outer surface of said ring being provided with a plurality of radially extending teeth, a hosel for mounting a shaft, a hub formed integrally with said hosel, said hub being provided at one end thereof with a plurality of teeth complementary to the teeth of said ring, said hub being further provided with an axial bore and a recess at the other end thereof, a bolt having an enlarged head mounted in said head bore and said hub bore for securing the head and the hub in predetermined fixed relation, said bolt head being provided with a socket for reception of a suitable wrench for tightening or loosening the bolt as may be required, whereby a flat base surface is presented for each of several angular positions of the head with respect to the hub and hosel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

